20 Volunteers Help Grow Nashua With Makeover Of Urban Garden

NASHUA, NH — A local nonprofit, a beverage company charity and several volunteers collaborated to help upgrade a Nashua community garden last week.

On Sept. 28, 20 volunteers took part in the project at the Pine Street Urban Growing Space, located at the Nashua Heritage Trail on Pine Street. The group constructed and painted new gates and planting beds and created new seating areas to allow gardeners and visitors to enjoy the growing space.

The garden is run by Grow Nashua, a nonprofit with a mission of connecting and caring for underserved families by providing the resources to grow their own food.

Partnering with Grow Nashua on the initiative was Love, Tito's Block to Block. Run by Tito's Handmade Vodka, the initiative seeks to provide fresh and healthy food to communities by working alongside local nonprofit organizations and volunteers to create green spaces, including community gardens and farms.

"Tito's Block to Block has been an amazing partner of Grow Nashua for the last three years and has helped us to build three garden sites, add wheelchair accessibility features to be more inclusive in our offerings, and to improve the community garden infrastructure in traditionally underserved neighborhoods," Justin Munroe, the executive director of Grow Nashua, told Patch.

Munroe continued: "We are so grateful that this new growing space will provide more spots for families to grow veggies for their dinner tables and simultaneously strengthen their neighborhood relationships, which we feel is equally important."

The upgraded farm, according to Grow Nashua, will help the organization continue to increase access to fresh, nutrient-dense food, especially for people who live far from grocery stores, have limited transportation and struggle with the expense of nutritious food.

In addition to the upgrades provided last week, the Pine Street Urban Growing Space also features an outdoor learning area, educational signage, a dog-friendly lawn, pollinator gardens, fruit trees and utility elements, Grow Nashua said.